High Pitch Whine
 

I have been noticing a very high pitch whing sound when I start my car in the mornings. I park my car in the garage. It doesnt get to cold in there, but could that be the issue....its just cold?

Jeremy,

Do you notice it just after you turn the ignitition but before it cranks? If so, I've noticed it too and have read in other threads that it is the headlights starting to auto-level.

-Gary

Kick you wife/girl friend out of the passenger seat. That took care of my problem.

Sorry, I had to say it. :D

No its when the engine is running right after I start it. It does it for about 30 or so seconds, but goes away.

You need to tell us more about the conditions under which you hear the whine. Does it change depending on whether you're in neutral, 1st gear, clutch in/out, or slowly accelerating? Does the pitch change with engine speed? Does it change with A/C on or off? Does it change when you turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock? Does it change when you put a big electrical load on the system (A/C on, rear defrost on, stereo on with high volume, heated seats on if you have them, etc.). Do you have automatic or manual T/M? If automatic, did you try brake-torquing and how did it affect the sound? These are the types of things that need to be known if the scope of the problem is to be narrowd.

Its parked in my garage. I have a MT. Heater off, lights off. I start it and let it warn up for about 10minute before driving to work. FOr the first 30 seconds I hear the whining sound and it changes pitch. Seems to happen more so when its cold outside.

It could be a loose belt.

I believe this is the air pump. It pumps air into the chambers during startup. It shuts down shortly after startup, sometimes it stays on for 30 seconds or so, sometime more...I think it is based on the ambient air temp. Correct me if I am wrong about what it does, but I am pretty sure its an air pump.

An air pump? :confused:

There is a secondary air pump which pumps air for a short time on start up to reduce emissions.

thats true.. its a really soft "whine" .. it even happens when you turn on the headlights without starting the car... its more noticeable then because the engine drones it away..

I'm almost positive that the noise you hear right after key-on but before ignition is the fuel pump starting up. All cars have some fuel pump noise before ignition, but it seems to be especially noticeable in the RX-8.

The noise starts as soon as the engine starts running.

It's normally louder when you first start ur car. That's what I have noticed.

I think I know what you're talking about. I'm pretty sure it's the fuel pump. If you pop the hood and listen you can hear it real bad. The only other car I could ever hear the fuel pump as bad as the 8's is my '79 MGB. I dont think any of my friends cars make this much noise. Oh well doesnt bother me once I hit the gas. :)